Family is More than Blood
by lostinthewords
Summary: REVISED! There are two types of family. The one you're born into and the one you pick. What happens when Castle find out his family isn't as it seems?
1. Chapter 1

Rick sat at the edge of the bed, his hand holding hers. He listened to the steady beeping of the monitor that was good he reminded himself; it means she's alive, there's still a chance. She could pull through, she would pull through she's a fighter.

He wasn't a religious man but he found himself saying more than one prayer lately. It was three hours since he got the phone call that changed his life, three hours since the possibility of life without her set in.

_He was making dinner for her since they haven't seen each other for a few days. The others were out so they had the loft to themselves. He was making his special pasta carbonara for her; he knew it was one of her favorites. Her special ringtone rang from his phone he quickly turned the stove down to simmer before running over to answer it. _

"_Please tell me you are on your way," The smile evident in his tone._

"_Richard Castle?"_

"_This is he."_

"_We need you to come down to Mount Sinai Hospital. There's been an accident."_

That's how he got here, pleading for her to wake up. He knew she wouldn't, at least not yet. The doctors gave her pain medication to run some tests and let her body rest. Her taxi had been T-boned by another driver that ran a red light. He checked his phone again for messages but there was nothing.

The doctor came in again interrupting his thoughts.

He stood up out of the chair, "Any news?"

"We got her CT scan results and it showed a small amount of internal bleeding from a splenic rupture."

"What does that mean? She needs her spleen right? How do you fix it?" The anxiety built up and soon he was asking a million questions without letting the doctor answer the first one.

He let Castle get all his questions out before trying to answer.

"It was caused by the blunt trauma from the accident. It's fairly common when someone has been in an accident. Because it's just a slow bleed we can treat it with blood transfusions and monitor it to make sure it does not become severe."

"So she will be okay?" He needed to hear the words from the doctor.

"Yes, she will be just fine. We'll get her started on the transfusion after that it's just a waiting game. I know how hard this must be, is there anyone that can come wait with you?"

Castle let out a breath; she was going to be just fine. "They're already on their way."

The he nodded. "Thank you doctor," Castle said, before he left.

He went back to his seat next to her. "Do you hear that? You're going to be just fine, but do me a favor and fight. Don't let this injury get worse-" His voice broke and silent tears fell from his eyes, "I know you can be just as stubborn as me. Please fight, please."

There was a small knock at the door, he turned towards the new visitor hopeful, his face fell when he realized it was just the nurse. He didn't know how long she had been there but from the look in her eyes she heard what he said.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but there's something I need to talk to you about. There was a problem with our supplies delivery and we are short on A+. You are the best chance for a match." She held up the needle in her hand.

He rolled up his sleeve "Of course! Whatever you need," settling back in the chair, he stretched out his arm, his hand never leaving hers.

The nurse was good; he barely even felt the needle. "Wow, that is the most painless blood drawn I've ever had."

"I've been doing this for 20 years. I've seen it all."

"She really will be okay won't she?" His voice quiet, he wasn't sure if she heard him.

The nurse looked between the girl and him, "She will be just fine."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because she has you."

Castle managed his first smile in three hours, it was a small one but a smile was a smile.

When the nurse left he pulled out his phone again, it rang several times before going to voicemail. "Dammnit," He cursed before he heard the beep. "It's me again. This probably the 1000th voicemail but I'm still here at Mount Sinai. Nothing's changed. So whenever you get this… If you can't come down I understand but please call me."

He resumed back to watching the monitor and praying. He ignored his rumbling stomach; he couldn't bring himself to leave her. Not until someone else was here to sit with her although even if the others were here he still wouldn't leave.

The doctor came back in, "I'm sorry Mr. Castle but I'm afraid I have some bad news."

He leaned forward in his chair, "What's wrong?"

The doctor shook his head, "You aren't a match."

Just because he isn't a match doesn't mean there's not hope. She could still go on the list he reminded himself. "But you are short on blood? What other options are there?"

"Is her mother close by? We can use hers if you know her blood type, even if you don't we can test her."

He shook his head, "Her mother is in L.A. But she's O blood type. I don't remember if it's positive or negative."

"That's find we've given her O- while we tested you, so we will continue with that. But wait I'm sorry, when you say you're her father you do mean her biological father correct?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?" He sensed there was something the doctor was not telling him.

"I'm sorry to tell you this but according to that information Alexis is not your biological daughter."


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: This is set sometime in s5 after Target/Hunt but before Still. I owe a big shout out to jessmuir0407 and escape-reader.13 for helping me get the wording right. Sorry for any mistakes this is also unbeta'd._

_Previously: "I'm sorry to tell you this but according to our results Alexis is not your biological daughter."_

"What? What do you mean I'm not her father?"

"According to the blood types, you are not her father. See, in order for Alexis to be type A, her parents need to either be, A &amp; A, A &amp; O, AB &amp; AB, or AB &amp; O. So if you are correct that her mother is type O and we know that you are type B, then Alexis cannot be type A."

Rick was stunned. What was he supposed to do with this information? What does someone say to that? He took a breath; he needed to keep it together at least in front of the doctor

"I know this is a lot to take in, I am sorry to be the one to tell you this. However, you are still listed as her father on her birth certificate so you are her legal guardian so you can still make medical decisions for her."

He managed a weak, "Thank you," not knowing what he was supposed to say to the man that just informed him is daughter isn't actually his daughter.

The doctor left revealing Kate in the doorway.

"How long have you been there?"

"Long enough. I would've come in but he was in the way and didn't want to interrupt."

"So you heard?"

She nodded. "I heard." She took two long strides over to him; pulled him into a tight embrace.

He clung to her, buried his face in the crook of his neck inhaling her scent. He took several deep breaths, now was not the time to fall apart again. Rick took comfort in her familiar scent but it wasn't what he wanted, he wished it was Alexis in his arms but Kate was the next best thing.

Rick pulled away and looked back at Alexis; she looked so childlike. The hospital bed swallowed her up. Her skin was pale, paler than usual and her face marred with scratches and stitches above her left eyebrow.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner. I was in an interrogation and didn't have my phone."

"It's okay, you're here now."

He sat down in the chair and pulled her into his lap. He needed to touch her, he needed her close.

Her hand caressed his cheek, "What do you need? What can I do?"

"Can you arrest or preferably kill the son of a gun who did this."

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Ryan and Esposito are already in his room."

He kissed her hard, "I love dating a cop."

"That's detective to you. What does she need?"

"She has a few bumps and bruises, you can see the stitches above her eyes and a small bleed from her spleen." He recapped the treatment plan the doctor laid out for him.

The same nurse came in from earlier, "I hope I'm not over stepping but you have a wonderful husband. He hasn't left your daughter's side."

Her cheeks flushed pink, "I'm not his wife and she isn't my daughter."

"Oh I am so sorry. It just seemed like you were a family."

"This is my girlfriend Kate. Kate this is… Oh I didn't catch your name earlier."

"I'm Susannah." She took a few minutes to prep Alexis for surgery. "I'm going to take her up to CT for another scan, the doctor wants to check the bleed again, but you can have a few minutes."

Kate stood up to let Rick get up.

Rick kissed her forehead, "Hey pumpkin. You're going to be all right, they're going to take you up for a quick picture to make you better okay? I made sure the finest doctor is working on you. I'll be right here waiting for you to come out. I'm not going anywhere so you can't either."

They stepped back and watched the nurse wheel her away, Rick's hand found its way to Kate's.

"I think she's going to be just fine," she said, looking between him and Kate before giving a wink to Rick reminding of her earlier words.

They were left standing in the empty room with nothing but their thoughts.

She squeezed his hand, "Come on let's get something to eat."

"I'm not hungry," He mumbled.

"You and Alexis were supposed to meet for dinner, I'm assuming the…the accident happened before she arrived meaning you haven't eaten."

"You must be a detective." His lips quipped into a smile too small to really be sure it moved.

Her hand came up to the hair behind his ear knowing it soothed him. "Let me feed you or at least get you coffee."

"That's my job in this relationship."

"And it's my job to be stubborn. Come on," She tightened her hand around his and pulled him to the cafeteria.

They sat in the cafeteria; the atmosphere wasn't much different than the rest of the hospital. It was quiet and thick with anxiety and sorrow. Each had a cup of coffee in front them. Rick's hands were wrapped around the cup trying to absorb the warmth, hoping to feel something but he didn't. He couldn't feel anything; numb everywhere the only thing that could fix that knew Alexis was out of danger.

They let the silence hang between them for awhile. There was nothing for Kate to say, this wasn't her territory at least with Paris she was in a position to do something but here she was just as helpless as Castle.

"Where's Martha?"

"She's in the middle of the show. I left her message but I don't expect her to hear until after the show."

"What do I do? Do I tell her?" Castle's voice was small and quiet.

"I think she deserves to know but you don't have to tell her right away. You can let her recover first and talk to Meredith."

"But what if Meredith doesn't know who her biological father is. Why else would she lie all these years? Am I just supposed to shatter her world? What if she wants to know but we don't have answers for her? What if she wants to find him?"

"Her world may shatter but she'll be okay because you will be there to help her put it back together. If she wants to find him then I know you. You will honor her wishes but I think she at least needs the choice."

Rick was about to respond when Kate's phone started to ring.

"Beckett. We're in the cafeteria…Okay see you in a minute."

"That was the boys. They're done with driver and coming down now."

Right on cue the boys entered the cafeteria, scanning the room for them. Beckett waved alerting them to where they were sitting.

"How is she?" Ryan asked.

He explained again what he knew.

"Well at least she'll be okay." Esposito reassured him.

Kate could see he wasn't ready to discuss what this accident revealed. Hoping to give him some good news she asked what the boys found about the driver.

"There was some rookie on the case from 15th but we took over. His blood alcohol level was 0.085."

"He was drunk?!" His voice raised higher and higher. "You mean a DRUNK DRIVER put her in the HOSPITAL." He stood up, his chair falling over behind him. "I WANT TO TALK TO HIM. I WANT TO SEE HIM NOW!"

Ryan and Esposito hadn't seen him like this, Kate had seen him yell before but it was always directed at her and never like this.

Kate stood up, putting her hand on his chest. She spoke her voice calm and even, low enough for only him to hear, "What are you going to do Rick? Are you going to 'appeal to his humanity'?"

His fist clenched and unclenched with his teeth, "Maybe. He deserves it."

"That's not going to solve anything. That's not going to make her better."

"It would make me feel better," He grumbled.

"Think about Alexis. Do you think she wants to wake up to find out her father's in jail for assault and battery?"

"That's just it, I'm not her father."

Esposito looked at Ryan puzzled, Ryan just shrugged and shook his head.

"Don't say that! Of course you are. You raised her; you were there for her through the good and bad moments. You went above and beyond to protect her."

"I know. I'm sorry this is all just so overwhelming." He plopped onto the chair, his shoulder's hunched over. He looked tired and defeated.

Kate kneeled in front of him; her hands cupped his face bringing his eyes to hers. "I know it is but you aren't alone."


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: I know that not all my medical facts are correct but I've done research and some of it is over my head. I didn't go into all the medical facts in the story because I didn't want it to get bogged down. With that said this has more detailed medical parts and I took more time to research for this chapter but I don't think it's overwhelming, and if anything is wrong I'm sorry but blame the Internet. That's where this information is coming from. Sorry for taking so long to update, I was stuck on It Takes Three chapter (which I'm waiting to get back from beta) and other than that I have no excuse except I didn't realize it has been 3 weeks…_

They sat in silence, tuning out the bustle of the hospital around them. Rick sat in the hard chair next to Kate never letting go of her hand but kept his head down, staring at his shoes. He couldn't handle the looks of pity from Kate or Martha. Martha had arrived earlier and Rick filled her in on her condition but he kept the truth about her paternity a secret. He couldn't still talk about it yet, especially with his mother.

Ryan and Esposito tried to stay but Gates wanted them back on the case but gave Kate a few days off. They hadn't told Gates they were dating but if she didn't know before she definitely knew now. Not that that it was on their minds at this moment.

Instead of wheeling her into her room where they were waiting, the nurse came in headed directly to Rick.

Rick practically jumped out of the chair alarmed that she came in when Alexis wasn't there. "How is she?"

"There's not easy way to say this but her spleen ruptured while in CT the doctors rushed her into to surgery. You need to sign these consent forms."

He took the papers signing them without thinking twice about it. "Is she going to be okay?"

"That is all I know. The doctors will come and update you when they have more information."

He sat back down defeated, could this day get any worse. It seemed like everything that could go wrong had. He felt hollow and numb, he just wanted a moment of peace, one moment to process everything and know that it will be okay. But that seemed too much to hope for right now. He saw more than felt Kate's hand land on his knee. She didn't offer any words, knowing that there was nothing she could say but hoping her touch was enough. It was.

No one was sure how much time passed until Susannah wheeled in Alexis, "She's still asleep from the anesthesia. She'll be groggy when she wakes up."

Castle's gaze flickered between Alexis and the door, clearly he was waiting for the doctor to come in.

Martha broke the silence, "Oh go on, Richard. No need to sit here and make us all anxious, go track down the doctor."

Kate squeezed his hand; Rick nodded in understanding before leaving.

"Hey Alexis, it's Kate. You really scared us back there please don't do that again." She paused, "I know that things have been a bit rough between us lately, but you need to know that I love him and I'm going to be there for him no matter what. I don't want you to worry about your dad... I want you to worry about you, I want you to worry about healing because if you scare us again and you don't make it, it's not just going to break your dad... it's going to break me too."

**LINE BREAK**

"Dad?" Rick heard in a groggy voice. Lifting his head up he felt his spirit return to him seeing those blue eyes he feared he'd never see again.

He jumped from his seat, "Pumpkin."

Martha and Kate hung back, letting them have their moment.

"Wa-" She cleared her throat, "Water," She said, her voice horse.

He handed her the ice chips from her bedside. She chewed on a few chips before giving the cup back.

"Do you remember what happened?"

"I…I was headed home. I heard screeching then everything went black."

He stroked her hair, "You were in a car accident. You had some damage to your spleen, so they had to remove it to stop the bleeding."

"What happened to the other car?"

Rick steeled himself to answer but before he could there's a tap at the door.

"Hello, I hear someone woke up?" He walked over and introduced himself, "I'm Dr. Webber, how are you feeling?"

"I'm a little sleepy."

"Any pain? Discomfort?"

"My side hurts."

"That's normal. You have stitches in your side, you can't move around too much. Don't want to pull them. Can you rate the pain on a scale of 0-10?"

"Probably a 4." He nodded, letting her know he heard.

"Now that you are awake we can give you medication to help manage the pain." He took a minute to write a few notes in her chart. "Okay now I'm just going to check a few things." He moved around checking her stitches and taking her vital signs. "Everything looks good so far. We're going to keep you for at least a few days to monitor you closely. I'm going to order the medication for you. You get some rest and call if you need anything."

"Thank you Dr. Webber."

Alexis struggled to keep her eyes open, "Get some rest pumpkin. I will answer all your questions when you wake up."

"You'll be here when I wake up?"

"Always." Rick knew in that moment it didn't matter what genetics said, he was her dad.

"I'm going to run home and grab some stuff. Looks like you two will be here for awhile." Martha whispered as not to disturb Alexis.

"Mother why don't you get some sleep. She's going to be sleeping for the night so you can bring stuff in the morning."

"Are you sure Richard?" He could tell she wanted to stay but he would feel better if she was at home.

"Please?"

Martha acquiesced and left with a kiss and a "See you tomorrow."

"You should go home too Kate. Get some sleep."

"Not happening, Castle. I'm staying right here."

"Kate..." He began to say, but words failed him. Instead looked at her, the last few hours wore him down, the constant reminder of what could have been haunted him still, but it was clear how grateful he was for her.

"I know, Castle." She said, a sense of déjà vu coming over her when she met his eyes and somehow fell even more in love with him. "How about I get us some more coffee?"

He nodded his head. When she came back, she saw the look of relief in his eyes as he watched Alexis. Squeezing his shoulder affectionately to announce her return, she handed him the cup with a kiss to the cheek. "She's going to be ok."

"I know. I'm just so glad she didn't come out worse. She could have died Kate. Died."

"But she didn't. She's going to be just fine."

He knew she was right but the writer in him can't help but imagine worse case scenarios.

She lifted his chin to make their eyes meet, "Listen to me. Don't dwell on what could have been. We've made it through worse and we can make it through this."

Her hands moved to frame his face and kissed him, but let him take the lead. He kept it soft before deepening it, letting their tongues dance before pulling away.

"Thank you."

"Always," She replied with a smile.

**LINE BREAK**

The next time Alexis woke up she saw Kate and her dad asleep in the chairs. Kate nestled into Rick; how they were comfortable she didn't know. But she did know she was grateful for Kate. She didn't know their full story, all she knew was Kate had hurt her dad and then suddenly everything was fine. She hasn't fully trusted Kate since then but her dad was happy so she accepted her.

Now she knew that Kate really loved her dad. She hadn't been fully asleep earlier, the sedatives messing with her sleep cycle, she overheard the conversation between her dad and Kate. It was clear to anyone Beckett loved not only her dad but herself as well. She was grateful for her, she knew no matter what happened he wouldn't be alone.

Kate woke up, felt eyes on her. She blinked her eyes open and was met with a pair of blue eyes just not the ones she was expecting. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Better I guess. They must have given me pain med because it's not as bad."

Rick woke up before Kate could remind Alexis she can relate.

"Hi, how are you feeling?" He asked her.

She looked to Kate "I'm going to get asked that question a lot aren't I?"

"Afraid so," Kate responded.

"Can you guys tell me what happened now?" Alexis requested.

"What do you want to know?"

"You said I was in an accident…what happened to the other car? Oh god, what happened to the taxi driver?"

"The other car had a drunk driver, he walked away with a few bumps and bruises. The Taxi driver wasn't severely injured either, he has a couple stitches but the car hit the back of the taxi so you…you suffered most of the impact."

"So everyone's going to be okay?" She asked, still a little worried about everyone else.

"Everyone is going to be just fine," Rick assured her.

"So what happens now? With me I mean?"

Rick told her everything the doctor said about the surgery and her recovery.

Hearing about everything was overwhelming for Alexis; all she wanted to do was sleep again.

Kate sympathized with Alexis, "Get some rest. You have a long recovery ahead of you."


	4. Chapter 4

"Morning, Richard," Martha said as she walked into Alexis's room, greeting her son with a kiss before saying the same greeting to Kate.

"Morning, Martha. Did you sleep well?"

"Hardly."

"What's in the bags, mother?" Castle asked, eyeing the many bags in question.

"Oh! Well I figured Alexis would need some things since she'll be here for a few days. A girl needs her stuff. Not to mention you need some distractions to keep you from hovering." She produced his laptop out of one bag.

"I do not hover. I…care."

That earned three glares from the women in the room and a simultaneous "You hover" from Kate and Alexis.

"Dad you look awful. Did you get any sleep?" Alexis inquired.

Rick waved her off. "I got enough."

"That chair can not be comfortable or good for your back," she pressed on. "Please dad. Go home and take a shower. Maybe take a small nap. I'd feel better if you did."

"She's got a point, Castle," Kate interjected. "You're not doing anyone any good if you're cranky and hovering. Don't worry, Martha and I will stay here until you come back."

Alexis was going to suggest Beckett went too but she knew she had a better chance of getting her dad to leave if Beckett stayed with her.

At first, he was firm with his decision to say, but after all three women kept urging him to go, he finally agreed. Martha walked out with him, saying she'd go get some coffee and breakfast for everyone.

Kate handed Alexis a few bags, "Let's see what Martha brought."

"Who knows, she likes to be extra prepared. Mostly with things we don't need."

"When you are stuck in the hospital there isn't anything you won't need to keep from going crazy."

"I don't expect to be bored with dad hanging around. I'm sure he's already coming with 101 ways to entertain me."

"You definitely won't be bored with him around."

They found some clothes, some that Alexis could wear like pajamas and some she couldn't at least not in the hospital. Then there was the bag with things to entertain like her iPad, laptop, a few books, and movies.

Kate held up a deck of Phase 10 cards. "Want to play?"

Kate dealt the cards first, they took turns picking up and discarding trying to get the hand they needed. Alexis laid her hand down first and Beckett followed on her next turn.

Alexis reached over to put a card on Beckett's hand, she felt her stitches pull as she stretched too far, she winced and her hand instinctively wrapped around them.

"Did you pull at your stitches?"

Alexis nodded, the pain making it difficult to speak.

"Do you want some more medication? I can get the nurse." She pointed her thumb towards the door.

"No, they gave me some earlier, it's okay now."

"I remember…" Kate paused wondering how open she should be, if she was crossing any lines. But if she was going to have the future with Castle she wanted, then she would need to work things out with Alexis and that meant not holding back. "I remember being in the hospital after I was shot."

Alexis's wide eyes stared into her; she was not expecting her to bring that up.

"It sucked, nurses and doctors always waking you up and probing you. People constantly coming in and out, the repeated question 'how are you feeling?' I had been shot how did they expect me to feel." She wasn't sure where all this was coming from, once she started talking she couldn't stop. It didn't seem Alexis minded though, it almost seems like she was interested.

"I wasn't into TV much, work kept me too busy, but all of a sudden I knew the day time TV schedule like the back of my hand. You're lucky though, you have family for you."

"You had family too."

"I had my dad, he hovered like Castle does. And the boys and Lanie were there until I went to my dad's cabin…" She met Alexis's eyes before continuing. "But they weren't your dad."

Alexis didn't know what to say, she knew Beckett and her dad had feelings for each other long before they admitted, everyone saw it but them.

Beckett took advantage of her courage and Alexis's silence to continue. "My shooting flipped my world upside and I didn't handle everything that happened the way I wished. I hurt people when I disappeared for the summer while it was something I had to do I never meant to hurt your dad and while I made things right with him I didn't realize there were other people who were hurt, like you. I'm sorry Alexis. I hurt not only your dad but you too. I should've done this months ago. I'm not leaving, I'm here for him and you too."

Alexis thought about her response for a minute. "Do you remember when he was listed as bachelor number 9? And the paper thought you two were an item but he went on the date with someone else on the list?"

Kate nodded, unsure where she was going with this.

"When he was getting ready for his date I asked whose going to look after him when I leave, if he's going to find happiness with someone from a list. He changed when he met you. He dropped his persona and became my dad again 24/7. It was because of you. He loves you. I wasn't always sure you felt the same way but I know now that I don't have to worry as much. You will be here for him when I'm not and he has found happiness, true happiness. Promise me you won't hurt him again. He can't handle it if you do."

"I will never hurt him on purpose. I've learned that life happens and not all promises can be kept but I can promise this. I will not hurt him intentionally and will do everything in my power to not unintentionally either."

Alexis appreciated her honesty and not promising something that Beckett may not be able to keep, instead making a promise she knew she could.

**LINE BREAK**

Rick came back to find Alexis and Kate playing cards while Martha caught them on the latest gossip from the magazines. Something was different between the Alexis and Beckett. He couldn't put his finger on it. The air seemed lighter and the tension between them was lifted. He didn't know how and wasn't sure it mattered, but if he was going to get through this he would need both of them, it wouldn't hurt if they got along better.

"Who's winning?" He asked as he entered the room.

"Alexis." Kate answered without looking up.

"Why am I not surprised? She is ruthless at this game and you don't want to see her loose."

"I am not as bad as you when it comes to loosing," Alexis protested.

"You refused to play for 3 days after you lost last month."

"Says the man who threw the Scrabble board and wouldn't talk to me for a week after I beat him."

"You didn't talk for a week?" Kate asked. "I'd like to see that."

"All you have to do is beat him at Scrabble and I've only done that once and it was last month."

"I'll take him on. All he has to do is name the time and place," Kate challenged him.

Castle raised one eyebrow, "Is that a challenge Beckett?"

"I do believe it is. What language are we using?"

"Only English words allowed," Castle stipulated.

Beckett crossed her arms, "Don't think you can beat me in a different language?"

"I have no doubt I can beat you in any language but the letters are in English not Russian." Castle pointed out.

"I guess we will just have to see. Now let me finish this game, this is the last phase."

Castle peaked at both their hands, a small smile forming when he looked over Alexis's shoulder and saw she had the perfect cards to win.

Beckett thought about calling him out on his poker face but didn't want to open that can of worms.

When the girls finished and everything was put away they decided to watch a movie. They picked some random scary movie on Netflix, Castle snuggled into Alexis's bed it was tight but having her dad made things less scary. He always knew how to comfort her when she needed it.

Kate sat in the chair next to the bed, giving them their space. Even though Alexis and her cleared the air, she felt guilty for being here constantly. She wanted them to know they could count on her, but she also knew that Alexis needed her father. She hoped that she hadn't over stepped but she was going back to work tomorrow, so she would go home tonight and let them have their time together.

Some point during the movie Kate fell asleep, she hadn't slept well the night before and stayed up with Alexis keeping her busy while Rick was away.

"How are you doing?" Rick asked Alexis.

"I'm okay, the pain killers make me a little bit foggy but Beckett helped me through it while you are away."

"Beckett helped you?"

"Yeah. We talked while you were gone she opened up to me, she can relate to my situation. Her circumstances were different but she understands what it's like to be stuck in the hospital."

"I'm glad she opened up."

"Me too. There were things that needed to be said and we cleared the air."

"So you are okay with her being around? I know this isn't easy and she's been here constantly but you are my first priority and if you are uncomfortable then you tell me."

"I know but it's okay. I was asleep for the most part and you needed her here. This isn't easy on you either and she makes things easier for you, which in returns makes things easier on me. Besides I need someone around to keep you from hovering."

He was taken back, she was always thinking of him. Even when she was the one that was hurt she was still thinking about him. "I'm happy that you have her. I know she doesn't replace your mother and I'm not asking you to think of her like that, but she is here for you. If there's ever something you want to talk about that you don't feel comfortable coming to me about, then you can go to her. But you can come to me for anything, and I mean anything. Just remember that."

She could tell something was off with him, he was trying to hide it but she could always tell when he was hiding something. She wanted to know what it was but from the look on his face he wasn't ready to tell her. That was one thing she could always count on him. Honesty. He may not tell her right away but he will tell her when he's ready.

She curled into his side, wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tight. "I know I can. I love you daddy."

His heart fluttered when she called him daddy. He kissed the top of her head, the wires and stitches making it hard to hug her back, "I love you too."

"Now, how about another movie?"

"Something with zombies this time?"

"Definitely."


	5. Chapter 5

Castle typed away on his laptop, lost in the world of Nikki Heat. The last few days had been unproductive to say the least. Alexis slept most of the time and Kate went back to work, which just left his mother. Not that he didn't love Martha but she could be overbearing at times and right now what he needed was a blank mind, to not think about anything, so he hid in his writing.

"Darling, what's on your mind?" Martha asked, trying to pull him out of his writing.

"Trying to figure out how to get Nikki out of a shark tank." He shrugged her off. He hasn't talked to his mother about anything. He knew she noticed something was different but hoped she believed it was about the accident. Now that Alexis was being released he couldn't keep putting it off. He wanted to wait until she was home and fully recovered, no use in putting more stress on her and delaying her recovery. That's what he told himself. It was the truth but there was more to it. He was scared. Scared that Alexis's world would shatter, scared that she would want to find her real dad, scared that he would loose his little girl.

Martha walked over and slightly closed his laptop. "Come on."

"I'm not leaving her."

"She's asleep and we'll be right outside. You can see her through the window."

Knowing she wouldn't relent, he got up and followed her out, sitting in the chairs outside Alexis's room.

"What's going on?"

Castle broke down. "I'm not Alexis's father."

"What are you talking about? Of course you are."

He looked her dead in the eye. "No, I'm not."

Realization washed over her face as the words sunk in. "Are you sure?"

Castle explained what the doctor told him.

"Oh Richard," Martha sighed, slipping her hand over his, storming it soothingly**. **"Have you talked to Meredith about this? Does she even know Alexis is in the hospital?"

"No. I can't bring myself to call her."

The truth is he hasn't talked to her because if he doesn't hear it from Meredith than he can still pretend it isn't true, that this is all just a bad dream that he will wake up from.

"I think you need to and before you talk to Alexis because she's going to have questions."

"I can't. I can't talk to her. I'm so angry with her. How could she do this? How did she lie to me for 18 years! No forget me, how could she do this to Alexis. I knew she was selfish but I never imagined she could be this selfish. Did she ever think about what this would do to Alexis?"

Martha stayed quiet as he vented. "I know you are and you have every right to be but you need to think about Alexis."

"But why does this fall on me? She made this mess and isn't even here to deal with it."

"That is who she is. She's always come and gone when she pleased. She broke Alexis's heart over and over again when she was growing up. She broke promises and failed to show up, but what helped Alexis was you. You have been the one constant in her life and she is going to need you more than ever. The best way you can help her right now is to call up Meredith and get the answers so you are prepared to talk with Alexis."

"Ok, I hear you. I'll stay out hear and call while I still have the nerve."

"I'll leave you to it. I'm going to get the house ready." She gave him a hug then left him alone, his finger hovering over the Meredith's name.

She answered on the third ring. "Richard, what a pleasant surprise."

"I have some news."

"What is it?"

"Alexis was in a car accident."

"Is she okay?"

"She will be. They had to remove her spleen and there's a couple bumps and bruises but other than that she's okay."

"Can I talk to her?"

"She's asleep right now, you can call her tomorrow. Beside you two will have loads to talk about," He muttered under his breath.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, her voice tight and guarded.

Castle took a breath before continuing. "I'm not her father, am I?"

"Of course you are! Where are you getting these silly ideas from?" He could tell she feigning ignorance.

He fought to keep his voice controlled. "Do _not_ lie to me! I have the tests to prove it. I have the doctors to back it up!"

"I'm sorry," she said after a silent moment, her voice defeated.

"You're sorry? That's all you have to say for yourself?"

"I know it was wrong but you can't tell her."

He couldn't believe what she just asked of him, he's never lied to Alexis and wasn't going to start now. "You want me to keep this from her? She's not three years old anymore. I can't keep cleaning up your messes!" he shouted.

"I have to go, they've been calling me on set for 5 minutes. We'll talk about this later."

"No! Meredith! Meredith!" But it was too late she already hung up on him.

**LINE BREAK**

Alexis woke up alone that morning. As much as she teased her dad for hovering, she would rather have that than to have woken up alone.

She looked around and saw most of their stuff gone; Grams must have gone home to thrown some welcome home get together and taken stuff with her. All that's left was her dad's computer, the iPad and some fresh clothes. She saw her dad pacing outside her window with his phone against his ear. She could tell he wasn't happy with whomever he was talking to. Her guess was Gina. He had given her all his attention since the accident and had been neglected his writing.

"You want me to keep this from her? She's not three years old anymore. I can't keep cleaning up your messes!" She heard him shout.

Okay well she knew it wasn't Gina anymore.

"No! Meredith! Meredith!"

Mom? Why was he talking to mom? She thought he could just be telling her about the accident but there was something else he said. Meredith wanted him to keep a secret from her? What mess did she make now? Her dad had been "cleaning up" after her mom's broken promises for her whole life but what could she have done now? She knew something was off with her dad lately but thought the accident had shaken him, that and Paris, but apparently there was something else going on. What was it?

She wanted to confront him but he stayed outside after hanging up probably to compose himself. He believed she couldn't tell when something was bothering him but she always saw through his poker face. She waited until he came but missed that chance because the doctor came in right behind him.

"So I hear someone gets to go home today. Are you ready?" Dr. Webber exclaimed as he entered the room.

Alexis was quiet, lost in her own world.

She gave a small smile. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"I just need to check a few things and then I'll start the discharge process." He checked her incision again, making sure there was no infection.

"Well everything looks good. No more internal bleeding on the scans."

"I guess that means you did your job right," Castle joked.

The doctor laughed. "It does. I am happy to release you today with a few conditions."

Alexis stared off, her mind preoccupied with other things. She wasn't worried, with her dad here she knew he was listening to every word and probably taking notes.

Castle spoke up when Alexis didn't. "Whatever they are I will make sure she follows them."

"The first is take it easy for a little while no need to pull your stitches over exerting yourself. The second is you take the pain medication as directed. Change the bandage everyday and keep it clean. If the incision because red, swollen or looks abnormal at all, you need to get it checked; those are signs of infection."

He held up his right hand, "I can follow them. Writers honor."

"Then a nurse will come in to take care of a few last things and, except for checkups, I hope to not see you again. I mean in the best possible way."

"Don't worry I understand. I hope so too."

Castle stood next to her bed when the doctor left. "You okay, pumpkin?"

"Just tired, the meds make me sleepy," she said weakly. She never was a good liar.

He smiled at her and rubbed her shoulder. "Cheer up you're coming home."


	6. Chapter 6

Alexis walked into the loft with Castle not far behind.

"Welcome home!" Martha greeted standing underneath a banner that said _Welcome Home Alexis_.

"You didn't have to go through all this trouble."

"Oh come on kiddo don't spoil my fun." Martha's smile was unwavering and contagious, quickly spreading to Alexis.

"I'm sorry. It's great."

"Do you want to get settled on the couch or up in your room?" Castle asked, slowly walking her into the living room.

"Couch, I've been in bed for days."

"Then the couch you get." He gave her a big smile, trying to overcompensate for his sullen mood these past few days.

Rick left and returned with Alexis's comforter and pillows from her bed. After she was settled Castle took the end of the couch with her feet propped up on his lap and Martha took the chair.

"What movie are we watching?" Alexis asked.

"Whatever you want. You are the patient, speaking of which do you need a pain pill?"

"No they gave me something right before I left the hospital so I'm okay for a few more hours."

"Do you need anything else? Water? Juice? Soda? Ice cream? Chocolate?"

"Well if we're watching a movie then we will need all the necessities won't we?"

Castle beamed at her. "I have taught you well my offspring. Pick out a movie and I will get the snacks."

He returned with a tray of popcorn, an assortment of candy and soda. "Which did you choose?"

"Breakfast club."

Castle groaned, "Again?"

"Stop complaining. I know you love John Hughes."

"Just don't tell Beckett. She'll never let me live it down."

"I promise your secret's safe with me."

**LINE BREAK**

"You wanted to see me?" Beckett asked, letting the morgue doors swing behind her.

Lanie put down her papers, "Kate Beckett, you have been keeping secrets from me and you know how much I hate secrets."

"What are you talking about?"

Lanie crossed her arms, "Espo came down here asking if Castle was Alexis's father. Would you know anything about this?"

"Where did he get that idea?" Kate shifted uncomfortably.

"He said Castle made some comment about it at the hospital."

Kate nodded. She didn't know what to say, there was no point in lying to Lanie but she didn't want to spread Castle's personal life.

"Alright if you don't want to say I understand. What about you?"

"What about me?"

Lanie walked into her office and sat down. "Tell me what's on your mind."

Kate followed her lead; this wasn't going to be quick. "I talked to Alexis. We umm…cleared the air about some stuff."

"How'd it go?"

"It went well, I think we understand each other better. The tension seems to be gone now. I understand she's part of Castle's life and that's one of the things I love about him."

"But…"

"They're a family, my actions now don't just effect him but Alexis too. That's what we talked about; I realized the fallout from my shooting didn't just hurt Castle but Alexis so I apologized for that and some other stuff." Beckett stopped; she wanted to continue but needed to focus her thoughts.

Lanie waited her out, sensing there was more.

Beckett continued, "I don't know how to fit in without pushing my way through. With the kidnapping and now the accident I know they're going to need their time but I want Alexis to be able to come to me like she used to."

"You said you talked things out so I wouldn't worry too much. If she doesn't come to you but you think she needs someone to talk to, you can gently remind her or even pull her aside and talk to her."

"I don't want her thinking I'm taking sides or forcing myself into their life. I want to be there for both of them. I just need to find that balance."

"You will sweetie, it may take sometime but it will happen. As long as you keep showing up and don't give up."

"Thanks Lanie."

"Anytime."

**LINE BREAK**

They were in the middle of their third movie, not that Alexis was watching anymore her pain medication knocked her right out.

Castles phone started to ring he quickly answered and went into his office as not to disturb Alexis.

"Castle."

"Hey," Beckett greeted on the other end.

Castle immediately smiled at the sound of her voice. "Hi."

"How's Alexis?"

"As okay as she can be. The medicine makes her sleepy."

"Yeah it does that but it's good for her, lets her body heal."

"I know I just hate seeing her like this. She's never been a big sleeper, never takes nap and hasn't been in her pajamas past 8 since she was 4, even on the weekends. I honestly don't know where she gets it from I was never like that. Well I guess she wouldn't get from me would she."

"Castle…" She had no idea how to respond to that. She knew that he used humor to cope, that's one of the ways he fits into the team. They often used gallows humor to lighten up the day.

He cut her off. "I know. I know."

They were silent for a moment.

"You know I-"

"Are you coming by? I'm going to order food soon." Castle cut off her again. He couldn't talk about it; he needed one night to forget. To pretend everything was the same.

"No not tonight. My dad's been asking for me to stop by but I'll come by tomorrow after work." It wasn't a complete lie, Jim had been asking and she was going to go over there but really she wanted to give Castle and Alexis some time for themselves.

"Tell him hello for me."

"I will. I've got to go but we'll talk tonight?"

"Yeah talk later. Bye."

"Hey Castle," she stopped him from hanging up. "It'll be okay."

"Thanks." He hung up the phone and followed the voices in the living.

"Hello sleeping beauty," He greeted Alexis who was now awake.

"What time is it?"

"Almost six."

"Can we order food? I'm getting hungry."

Castle got excited she lost her apatite for the majority of her stay in the hospital, he was eager to feed her again. "Of course! Whatever you want it's yours."

"Can we get the basil and sausage pizza from across town?"

"I will call right now."

They put on another movie of Alexis's choice, although her mind was elsewhere. She was still trying to figure out what her dad could be keeping from her. He's been more clingy than usual, sitting closer, giving her kisses on her head or pulling her in for hugs. Normally she would think it was he reminding himself that she was okay, he did similar things after Paris but clearly there was something else.

The doorbell rang and Castle got up to answer the door. "That must be the pizza."

He opened it but it wasn't the pizza. "Meredith?"

She flashed him a smile and kissed his cheek. "Hello, Rick."


	7. Chapter 7

_He opened it but it wasn__'__t the pizza. "Meredith?"_

_She flashed him a smile and kissed his cheek. "__Hello, Rick.__"_

"What are you doing here?"

"Alexis was in a car accident, did you really think I wouldn't come?"

Clenching his fist, Castle tried deep breathing to relax his body, but he didn't want her there. Taking another deep breath, he finally spoke. "She's resting right now. What if you go check into your room, relax and get some sleep and then come back tomorrow?"

"Nonsense," she said, pushing past him and giving her confused daughter a dazzling smile. "How do you think I'll be able to sleep not knowing how my daughter's doing?"

"You have before," He muttered under his breath. "You can stay for pizza, it should be here soon."

She was too focus on Alexis to answer.

Castle pulled out his phone and opened a new message to Beckett: _Help me my home is being overran by readheads. Again. _

His phone dinged two minutes later: _What do you mean?_

_Meredith showed up, again. Don__'__t worry she__'__s not staying here. _

His phone pinged again. _I wasn__'__t worried. Do you need me to run interference?_

He was going to respond but the doorbell rang, this time it was the pizza. He grabbed plates and napkins before responding.

_Not tonight but she__'__ll probably be here all day tomorrow. I may need you here to keep from killing her or as an alibi._

_Don__'__t worry I__'__m on duty tomorrow so if you do the call will go to me… :)_

_Oh my god! Detective Beckett, are you condoning murder? _

_I don'__t know what you__'__re talking about._

He picked up his phone again with his free hand but when he tried to text and eat at the same time he missed his mouth and ended up with sauce on his shirt.

_Oh great because of you I just spilled pizza sauce on shirt. _

_How is that my fault?_

_I was trying to respond to you and eat and missed my mouth. If I wasn__'__t texting you then I wouldn__'__t have messed up my favorite shirt._

_Oh well how can I argue with that logic. I__'__m at __my dad__'__s so I__'__ll let you eat without spilling._

Castle wasn't ready to say goodbye and face Meredith. _No wait! I take it back it wasn__'__t your fault. Please don__'__t leave me with her!_ But his phone didn't ring again. Beckett was spending time with her dad.

He put his phone down and noticed Alexis falling asleep again. He cleaned up the plates and returned with some water and her pill. He gently roused her, gave her the pill and helped her to bed. Meredith gathered her pillows and blankets and followed them up.

"We need to talk but let's save it for tomorrow okay? It's late and I think we both need some sleep."

Meredith nodded. "I'll be back tomorrow."

**LINE BREAK**

Meredith showed up the next day after breakfast. Castle was surprised when she knocked on the door early in the morning, he hoped not to see her until noon but it seemed like she was trying to be different. He appreciated her trying but it only made things more confusing. He was just starting to wrap his brain around her lie then she shows up and throws him off kilter. He wanted to hide out in his office all day but Alexis wanted to have a Star Wars marathon, he's never been one to say no to her, especially when she was hurt.

So there he was sitting in the corner of the couch as far away from Meredith as possible, who was sitting in the chair on the opposite side, with Alexis spread out next to him, her head resting on his side.

Meredith clearly was bored of the marathon but she never said anything. This was something they shared and she was not going to take that away from them. This was her mess and she needed to deal with it. That's why she came last night; she needed to be here for her daughter not only because of the accident but because she needed to know the truth. She wasn't going to lie to her anymore and neither should Castle. He barely uttered a sentence to her all day, it was her fault and she knew that. If he would just talk to her, let her explain. She didn't talk about it over the phone and he shut her down last night but she wasn't going to leave here until they talked.

"Rick," Meredith whispered, not wanting to wake up Alexis.

"Mhm?" He grunted,not looking at her.

"Can we talk?" She asked.

"Yeah, just let me take her upstairs." He wanted her out of ear shot in case she woke up and thing became heated between them.

He came back down and sat on the couch, this time the side closest to her. They sat in silence, neither knowing where to begin.

Castle broke it with one word, "Why?"

"What?"

"I want to know why?" He elaborated.

"Why…" She repeated slowly. "I didn't cheat on you, well not at that time. We had just started dating and the guy I dated before you was a loser. I wouldn't even say we dated, we saw each other just a couple times then he was gone and I never heard from him. I didn't mind it at the time, especially once I met you. I found out I was pregnant a few months into our relationship and I thought it was yours. It didn't even cross my mind that she wasn't yours. Not at first but once the doctor told me how far along I was I knew there was a small possibility that she wasn't yours but I didn't know. Not for sure. I wanted her to be yours."

"Why couldn't you have told me this 18 years ago? I wasn't going to abandon you or her."

"I was young and scared. I didn't know what else to do, like I said I didn't know for sure so I didn't want to cause any unnecessary doubt." She finally met his eyes. "I knew you were going to be a great father. You were going to give Alexis everything she needed and more. I didn't have the greatest parents and I wanted to her to have a different life. I know I didn't hold up my end but you have gone above and beyond for her. That is why I didn't say anything. To give her the life she deserved."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, okay."

"You aren't mad?"

"Yes, I'm mad but it's been done and there's nothing we can do to change it."

"You don't want to know who he is?"

"I honestly couldn't care less about who he is. But Alexis might feel differently."

"We can cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Oh so now you want to tell her?" He couldn't hide the bite in his voice.

"I'm sorry, it was wrong of me to ask you to keep it from her. I didn't mean for you to lie to her forever, I just wanted to talk to you first and be here when you tell her. I just…didn't want you to tell her while she was in the hospital."

"Do you really think I would do that? That I would tell her before she was recovered? Before we talked and I had answers for her?"

"No, of course not. How do you want to handle this? When should we tell her?"

"She has a follow up appointment next week so if the doctor gives her the all clear then we can tell her sometime after that. I don't want to keep this from her longer than necessary."

"I understand. I'm here as long as she needs me."

**LINE BREAK**

Alexis sat up with a jolt, her heart racing. She winced and her hand instinctively went to her stitches. She took a few deep breaths to lower her heart rate before checking her stitches; thankfully she didn't see anything wrong.

She blinked the sleepiness from her eyes and looked around her room, the last thing she remembered was watching movie with dad and mom. She recognized her room and figured she fell asleep and her dad must have carried her up. She leaned back, resting her head on the pillow before recalling her dream or well nightmare. She was in the car with her dad, he said he needed to talk to her about something but before he could there was a loud screech and white flash before she woke up.

Alexis didn't know what to do. She wanted to ask her dad because she knows he would be honest with him but for some reason he hasn't come to her. That means this is something big, part of her didn't want to know what was going on. She was scared.

There was one person she could call, one person who would know. She had gone to her for advice before, knew she could count on them. She didn't want to go behind his back but she needed answers. She needed to know even if she didn't get all the answers she needed maybe at least her fears could be eased.

She picked up the phone and dialed before she lost her nerve.

It rang three times before they picked up. "Beckett."

Alexis didn't answer. This was a bad idea she should just hang up but Beckett would just call back.

When the person on the other line didn't respond, Beckett checked the caller ID. "Alexis? Is everything okay?" Beckett immediately went into cop mode, fearing that something happened.

Well, there was no hanging up now. "Yeah everything is fine," she tried to sound convincing but failed.

"Are you sure? You aren't hurt? Your dad's okay?"

"We're okay. I promise." Her voice held more conviction this time.

After a moment of silence Beckett asked, "Is there something you need?"

"What's my dad keeping from me?" Alexis asked directly.

Beckett was taken back, she did not want to be the one to break the news to her but the girl came to her. Something she hadn't done since asking her about traveling abroad for school a few years ago.

"He's just been acting really weird and things are more tense than usual between him and my mom. And don't tell me it's nothing because I heard him on the phone with my mom in the hospital and he was angry and it sounded like she asked him to keep something from me but he said he wouldn't but he hasn't talked to me yet." Alexis took a breath, "I just…I need to know."

"Look I can't give you the answers you want. I'm sorry."

Her fears started to creep back up. Her voice caught in her throat. "Please….just tell me is he okay?" Her voice started to quiver. "He's not sick is he? Or is it grams?"

"Oh no. No Alexis. He's not sick and neither is Martha. Everyone is healthy, I promise."

"Then what is it?" She asked quietly.

"Talk to him Alexis. You know he won't lie to you, he hasn't before and he won't start now. Everything will be okay."

"You're sure?"

"Yes but if it's not and you need someone to talk to, like I said I'm here."

"Thanks," Alexis said.

"Anytime," Beckett replied before hanging up.

Alexis sat on her bed for a minute before searching for Castle.

She slowly walked down the stairs to find him on the couch flipping through the channels.

"Dad what's going on?" She asked, sitting down next to him, her body rotated towards him.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm not blind or stupid. I heard you talking to mom on the phone about keeping something and now she's here and you seem more angry with her than usual."

He turned off the tv and faced her. He didn't want to do this right now, not when she was still recovering. But she was right trying to hide it was stupid of him but there was not hiding it now. "Pumpkin there's no easy way to say this so I'm just going to come right out and say it."

"You're sick aren't you?" She knew Beckett said he wasn't but she needed to hear it from him.

"What? No."

"Well then is mom sick?" After all she never asked Beckett that and what else would her mom want to keep from her.

"No. No one is sick."

"Then what is it?"

"I am not your biological father."

Alexis laughed,."Haha very funny. Now what's going on for real?"

"I'm serious."

She shook her head, "No. You're lying, tell me you're lying."

"I wish I was. I really do but this doesn't change anything." He reached for her, wanted to comfort her but she shrunk away.

"I don't believe you. This is some elaborate prank to get me back for helping Beckett with your birthday but it's not funny."

"I promise, I'm not lying but like I said this doesn't change anything."

Alexis could see her dad wasn't lying, that this wasn't some sick prank but she didn't believe him, didn't _want_ to believe him. "Mom?" She asked, her voice small.

"I'm sorry."

"No! You're lying. Tell me this isn't true." Alexis stared at her pleading with her eyes. When she realized she wasn't going to get a different answer she did the only thing she could, she left. She wanted to run but that wasn't possible at the moment.

Rick watched her slowly go upstairs into her room and heard the door slam.

Meredith started to go after her but Castle stopped her. "I think you should go."

"Richard-" She pleaded looking up the stairs.

He raised his hand to stop her. "Not right now. She needs some time. I think we all do."

Meredith stopped in the doorway, "I really am sorry." She found herself saying that a lot lately.

"I know." Then he shut the door behind her.


	8. Chapter 8

She screamed into her pillow. She didn't believe it. They were wrong they had to be. She needed them to be. She opened her laptop and found a blood type chart online. She knew she was A+ blood type, her dad was B and her mom was O; according to the chart it wasn't possible. Her dad was not her father. How could she not see that before? She's study this in high school but never put two and two together.

It felt like she was punched in the gut, although that could be from walking up the stairs too quickly. Alexis couldn't breathe. It felt like an elephant was sitting on her chest. She had to get out of here. The room started to cave in around her, making her feel like a hippo in a mouse cage.

Alexis came down the stairs shoes on, purse in hand and headed straight for the door. "I'm going out," she called as the door swung open.

Before Rick could protest the door was shut and she was gone. He sat there stunned. He jumped up when he heard the door open, his face falling when he saw whom it was.

"Oh it's you," he said, his voice disappointed and flat.

Kate kissed him hello, "It's good to see you too."

"I'm sorry. It's just been a really long, long day."

She had suspected as much when Alexis called her. Kate sat down next to him and grabbed his hand. "What happened?"

"Alexis came down and confronted me. She noticed I was hiding something so I told her."

"I'm guessing she didn't take it well?"

"She accused me of making it up to get back at her for my birthday then when she realized it was true she locked herself in her room."

"She'll be okay, just needs some time to process. It's a lot to handle especially after Paris and the accident. You can try talking to her tonight."

"Yeah, if she comes home."

"What do you mean? Where is she?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" He took a few deep breaths to calm down. "She hid in her room for awhile then came down announced she's going out and left. Didn't say where or when she'll be back. She's out there god knows where, she's not even supposed to be out of bed. What if something happens to her, I can't go through that again. This isn't like her she always tells me where she's going and when she'll be home."

"Have you tried calling her?"

"No, she just left a few minutes before you came in. I thought you were her."

"She's a good kid, she just needs some time," she said, trying to reassure him.

"We've always talked about everything even when it was uncomfortable and now she's shutting me out. I don't want this to change anything."

"Things are going to change at least for now but you guys will get through this. As long as you keep being there for her you will get your relationship back."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because you don't give up."

**LINE BREAK**

She made it to the lobby before she had to stop. Her side was bothering her, she knew she should go back, she was supposed to be in bed and her dad was probably worried sick but she didn't care.

"Ms. Castle, are you okay?" Maurice, the doorman greeted.

"I'm fine," She waved him off. She tried to breathe through the pain and hide it from Maurice. The last thing she needed was for him to call her dad.

"Do you want to sit for a minute?"

"No, I'm going to head over the coffee shop just up the street."

"Have a good day."

Alexis bid farewell and shuffled toward the coffee shop. It took twice as long as normal, and took a lot out of her. Deciding the coffee would have to wait, she collapsed into a chair outside the café. Just being outside, the sun hitting her face and the familiar smell of coffee wafting to her nose, lifted her spirits.

Her thoughts wondered, the noise of the city fading into the background. She didn't hear her name being called.

"Alexis?"

She turned at the familiar voice. "Ashley?"

"Hey I thought that was you. How have you been?"

Ha, how had she been? She didn't know how to begin to answer that question.

"I'm…I'm okay. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you still be at Stanford?"

"I am interning at a stock broker in San Francisco and they have some business in the city."

"Oh wow you must be more than just an intern if they're sending you on business trips."

"Well the man I'm working under has business here and since I've from here he asked me to go with him."

"Do you want to sit or do you have to rush off to some meeting?"

"No, I was heading back to my hotel." He sat down in the empty chair across from her. "Do you want anything to drink?" He asked, noticing she didn't have anything.

She wanted coffee but wasn't allowed to have caffeine. "A chamomile tea would be great, thanks."

He sat back down and set two cups down. "So, tell me about you."

She really didn't want to talk about herself right now. What she wanted was a distraction. "What about me?"

"What have you been up to? How's college?"

"School's good, I'm going to Columbia."

"I bet your dad is happy about that."

"He's very happy. I was torn between Columbia, Oxford and Stanford actually but in the end Columbia won."

They traded stories about classes and friends. He was surprisingly easy to talk to, once they got over the initial awkwardness. The conversation was easy light and kept her distracted but it didn't make her smile anymore real, didn't make her faking interest any easier. Finally he took a deep breath and asked her if everything was ok.

"I've had better days," Alexis mumbled.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"I was in a car accident a couple weeks ago."

"What happened? Are you okay?" he asked, worry filling his face.

"A drunk driver hit my taxi. They removed my spleen. I'm actually supposed to be on bed rest right now."

"Then why are you out here? You're smarter than to ignore the doctors orders."

"I needed to get some air." She said cryptically.

"Why?" He saw the hesitance written on her face. "Sorry I don't mean to pry. You don't have to tell me."

"My dad isn't my father," She blurted then quickly covered her mouth after the words came out.

He blinked, "What?"

"Sorry, I don't know why I blurted it out."

"It's okay. How are you dealing with it? Sorry that's probably a stupid question."

"Honestly, I don't know how I feel. I mean the doctor told him that based off a blood test. It's not accurate to determine paternity based off of a blood test. I did some research about it and it's not a possibility."

While she was talking Ashley pulled out his phone and started fiddling with it.

"What are your parents blood types?"

"O and B while I am A. Why?"

"Oh yeah, that doesn't add up. I am sorry." She wrapped her hands around the mug, shoulders hunched over in defeat. He felt bad for her, Alexis was such a good person; she didn't deserve this. He also knew that if anything could handle this it would be her. "Have you talked to him yet?"

"No, I don't know what to tell him. This isn't his fault but this year has just been so tough, stuff that we've been through that I can't talk to anyone else about."

"I know how close the two of you were. You are his world and he is yours, this small detail doesn't have to erase the last 18 years together. You need each other now more than ever."

She let his words sink in, "I have to go, I'm sorry," she said quickly, although it took her longer than she wanted to get up.

"Are you okay? Are you in pain?" He asked again, immediately getting up and going to her side to help her.

"No it's nothing like that I just have to talk to my dad." She gently pushed his hand away. "Thank you. It was good to see you. Next time you're in town give me a call."

"I will. If you need someone to talk to, give me a call."

She gave him a smile and nod before leaving.

**LINE BREAK**

Beckett gave up trying to settle Castle down about 10 minutes ago.

"What if we GPS track her phone?" He asked pacing around the living room.

"Remember how that backfired a few years ago when you did it?"

"Oh. Right. Well can't you call in a favor and send a team to go look for her?"

"Castle…" She tried to get his attention but failed.

"Or maybe have Ryan and Espo canvas the area."

Beckett heard the door open and tried to get his attention again. "CASTLE!" But he was still lost in his head trying to come up with a way to find Alexis, what he didn't realize is she just walked in.

"RICK!" He turned at the use of his first name. Relief washed through him when he saw Alexis. He closed the gap in a few strides and pulled her in for a tight hug.

She hissed as he squeezed her, making him quickly let her go.

He held her out, holding her arms and looked her up and down. "Are you okay? Where were you? Do you have any idea how worried I've been? You can't just take off like that!"

"I'm sorry, I went to the coffee shop across the street to get some fresh air and to think and I've come to a decision."

"I think I'll let you two talk," Kate said.

"No it's okay, you can stay. I was looking up blood tests and genetics online and determining paternity by blood type is not reliable and since mom doesn't know the truth, there's only one way to find out. I want to take a paternity test."

"If that's what you want."

"I know they have the home tests but those takes days to get the results." She looked at Beckett. "I was hoping Lanie could do it and maybe speed it along. That way we also know it's done correctly."

"She was still in the morgue when I left so I can call her see if she can bring a test over on her way home? That is if you want to do it tonight?"

"Please? I just want to know the truth, the sooner the better."

Kate stepped out, leaving Castle and Alexis alone for the first time since the news.

Castle sat down and patted the couch, "You need to lay down."

Alexis laid next to him with her head against his side. His hand automatically stroked her hair; they stayed like that, neither knowing how to fill the silence.

"Hey Lanie." Beckett greeted when she answered.

"Hey girl, I thought you went to Castle's."

"I'm here now which is why I'm calling. They need a favor."

"What is it?"

"Remember when you asked me about Castle being Alexis's father? Well they need a paternity test and want you to do it so they don't have to wait."

"I'm off in 30, I'll head over when I'm done."

"Thank you."

**Line Break**

Lanie knocked on the door later that evening.

"Hey, come on in." Castle greeted when he let her in.

"How are you doing Alexis?"

"I'm okay, bed rest sucks."

"Shall we do this?"

They nodded.

"I'm going to swab the inside of each of your cheeks. It's not painful or anything." She swabbed them and put the swabs in their labeled bags. "I will get these to the lab first thing tomorrow."

"How long will it take to get the results?"

"Usually it's 2-3 days but that includes mailing it in but since we aren't mailing it in it will take 1-2 days. I'll do my best to make it one."

"Thank you Lanie. And if you could-" Castle started to say.

"Not mention to this Ryan and Esposito," She finished.

"Yes, I would appreciate it."

"Don't worry your secret is safe with me but just so you know they have an idea because he did ask me about it. He said you said something to Beckett in front of them. But don't worry I won't mention this to them."

He remembered his outburst in the hospital, "Thank you."

"Of course."

He sat back down next to Alexis again.

"You know we should probably tell mom about the test."

"We can do that later, right now let's just order some dinner and find some bad movie on tv. How does that sound?"

"Perfect."


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: __I revised the first 8 chapters of this story and replaced them. It shouldn't affect this chapter but I did change the Alexis's injuries therefore changing her recovery, plus a few small things here and there. Feel free to go back and just skim instead of rereading the whole thing if you want, the majority of each chapter is the same. _

Alexis was sitting on the couch, her light leg slightly bouncing anxiously. Letting out a deep breath, Castle went over and sat down next to her, lightly placing his hand on her knee, instantly stilling it. Neither of them said anything, too lost in their thoughts to attempt to fill the silence. Both jumped when they heard the sound of key jostling, looking up to see Kate walk through the door, thin white envelope in hand.

She placed it in his hand and gave him a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow. Call if you need me." She whispered in his ear. She softly squeezed his shoulder and gave Alexis a reassuring smile before leaving.

The only detectable movement in the living room were both of them blinking, their eyes fixed on the envelope laying in his hands. The only sound was the clicking of the clock counting the time they stared at it. Conflicting emotions ran through them, both needed the truth but scared to find out.

Castle squeezed her hand before turning it over to open it.

Alexis's hand landed on top of his, "Dad stop."

His head snapped up, confusion written in eyes.

"I just-I need you to know that I don't care what this test says. You have been, are and will always be my dad. It doesn't change the past; you are the best dad a kid could ever have. I don't want this to change anything between us."

Tears formed, "Oh pumpkin, of course not. This won't change anything. I'm here for you just like I always have been."

He pulled her in and they held each other for a moment. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the envelope, swiftly sliding his index finer under the top, breaking the seal. He heard Alexis's small intake of breathe as he slipped out the letter.

Rick's whole body went rigid when his eyes zoned in on the section that concluded the results.

"Dad, what does it say?" Alexis asked after he stayed silent for a minute. Still unresponsive, he didn't even flinch when she leaned over him and snatched the letter. Unable to believe what it said, she read it five times before the paper slipped through her fingers.

_Richard E. Castle is excluded from being the biological father of Alexis Castle_

* * *

"She's waiting in her room." He moved to the side, letting Meredith enter the loft and head up the stairs to talk to her daughter. "Alexis asked to talk to you without me around so I'm going to the precinct for a bit. Call me if she needs anything or when you leave; I don't want her alone for too long."

Meredith nodded signaling she understood and headed up the stairs. Her knuckles rapped on the door, "Alexis, it's me. Can we talk?"

She replied with a muffled come in.

"How are you doing?" Meredith asked, sitting across the bed from her.

Alexis scoffed, "how I am doing," she repeated slowly. "Let's see I was in a car accident that resulted in my spleen being removed, and then I found out the man I thought was my father is not. How do you think I'm doing?"

"I know you're upset, and this is a lot to process. I want to help you, be here for you in anyway that you will allow."

"I can ask anything and you'll answer? Honestly?"

"Yes, I will tell you anything that you want to know."

"Why did you keep this from me? From us?"

"I was young and reckless. I had just broken with him when I met Rick. Things progressed quickly with your fa-Rick that I honestly thought it was his at first. But once the doctor told me how far along I was it wasn't so clear to me anymore." Meredith's hand reached out, stroking Alexis's red hair but she pulled away crossed her arms, unwilling to be won over by her mother's sincerity. "Were you ever going to tell us or were you just hoping we would never find out?"

"I saw all the love in his eyes the first time he held you, with your red hair and bright blue eyes. I couldn't take that away from him, besides I knew in that moment that he was captivated by you; you were already his whether it was through DNA or not. I saw no need to take that away from either one of you."

"Didn't you think we deserved to hear it from you? At least to prevent us finding out through some stranger; I know you haven't been the most reliable person but you at least owed us honesty."

Meredith placed her hand on Alexis' this time she didn't pull away. "I am so sorry Alexis, truly. I never wanted you to find out this way let alone go through this. I know you're hurting and angry but I hope someday you can forgive me." With a squeeze of her hand, Meredith got up to leave her daughter alone to process everything.

"Mom?" Meredith stopped and turned her head, "can you tell me about him?"

* * *

Beckett felt his presence before she saw him; the familiar scent surrounding her, his shadow casting over her desk. Her head lifts up; the sight of him standing in front of her coffee in hand creates a smile on her face, one that warms his heart. It brings a light to his eyes that were missing since the accident.

She accepts the coffee as he sits down in his chair. Her eyes squint, trying to read behind the mask he's wearing. "What are you doing here?"

"It's lovely to see you too Beckett."

Beckett rolled her eyes, "I'm happy to see you I just didn't expect to see you here anytime soon."

He knew she was probing for what he wasn't telling her, albeit gently, and that if she really wanted to get it out of him she could but that she would let it go if he wanted.

"It seems you have been stuck on a case for longer than usual so I figured I would lend my expertise." He quirked one eyebrow, "It's clear that you need it." Castle gave her a half smile trying to pass it off as a real one but she saw right through it.

She strode over the murder board with him two steps behind her, perched on the edge of the desk in front of it and began to catch him up.

Ryan perked up when he walked into the bullpen with Espo at his side. "Hey Castle! What are you doing here?"

He flashed them the smile he saves for the press, "Heard you guys can't solve a case without me anymore; must be loosing your touch."

"We can solve our cases just fine on our own. I bet Alexis kicked you out for hovering too much" Castle's smile faltered for a split second before he recovered.

Beckett stepped in before the boys pushed it too far, "So now that your all caught up dazzle us with your wild yet correct theory."

"I'm thinking the sister did it because the boyfriend was going to leave her for the victim."

The boys shook their heads, "Already cleared her alibi. It's rock solid."

"Looks like someone is a little rusty," Esposito teased.

Castle tried to bounce back, "Hey, I've only been here for 15 minutes I'm just getting warmed up."

Beckett snatched the file from Espo's hands, "I'm going to interrogate the boyfriend again. Come on Castle." She sauntered away leaving Espo wondering what just happened.

The loud silence from Castle during the interrogation was difficult for Beckett to ignore, on a typical day she would revel in the silence but today it worried her. She hoped sitting in on an interrogation and listening to the desperate pleas of innocence would distract him, however he seemed to sink into himself even more. He was sinking into his own rabbit hole and there was no way in hell Beckett was going to let him.

"You know I was thinking maybe she was mixed up with ninja assassins and they killed her." Beckett baited him to call her out on suggesting a crazy theory.

"Yeah uh huh. Sounds good."

Beckett glanced at her team, pleading them to help.

"Umm." Ryan shoved his hands in his pockets, shrugged his shoulders while he tried to come up with something. "Maybe she was part of a secret spy organization and she wanted to leave but that wasn't an option."

"Nah man, this killing was way too messy to be a hired gun. My money is on the quiet neighbor, you know the one no one notices but still simple enough to solve quickly."

Ryan challenged him, claiming the theory was too simple for them not to have solved it yet. Esposito argued that that is the exact reason they hadn't solved it yet, it was too straightforward so they overlooked it.

"What do you think Castle?"

He turned his head, clearly he hadn't heard a word they said. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You ok man?"

"I think he needs some coffee." Beckett placed her hand on his shoulder, squeezing it for him to follow her.

She placed him on the couch before moving towards the coffee machines. Taking a moment to decide between fiddling with fancy one she's never quite learned how to work or settling for the pot of already made yet doesn't nearly compare. Opting for the fancy coffee, after all Castle would take the time to make it for her, she moved with slight awkwardness as she warmed and frothed the milk, careful not to burn herself.

"She's not my daughter."

Her heart broke, expression softened. "I'm so sorry."

"I can see Alexis shutting down. We found out this morning and she's already pulled away from me."

"I don't believe that. Start from the beginning, walked me through what happened."

"We received the results this morning, she went up to her room and didn't talk to me except to tell me she called Meredith over to talk and if they could have the loft to themselves."

She nodded for him to continue. "That's it?" She asked when he didn't continue.

"Isn't that enough? She didn't talk to me for hours Kate, hours. Then she kicked me out of my own house!"

"Rick, She will come to you when she's ready, it's good for the two of you to process this on your own."

"I just don't want this to drive a wedge between us. If she's pulling away now, what's to say she won't push away until it's too late to fix it?"

"You won't let that happen. You are the most stubborn person I know. Yes, even more stubborn than me at times. Look at us; you wouldn't let me run even when all I did was hurt you. You kept fighting for us, and you will do the same with Alexis. I can guarantee you won't have to. She may want her space sometimes but she will always come back."

His hand caressed her cheek before running his fingers through her hair, pulling her towards him for a kiss.

Their foreheads rested against each other's. "Thank you," He whispered.


	10. Chapter 10

"Absolutely not! No way."

Alexis' hands went to her hip, "What do you mean no?"

"You're not going by yourself." Was she crazy? Going to meet a stranger by herself? No way was he going to let her do that.

"I'm not asking for your permission. I'm an adult you can't tell me what I can and cannot do."

"We don't who this guy is or what he's like."

"Kate checked him out, he's a financial person just like mom said with a wife. He doesn't have a record, not even a parking ticket. I think he's safe."

"How can you be sure? I can't risk something happening again."

She saw the fear in his eyes, the same fear when she was in the hospital. "Dad, I love you but you can't go with me. That wouldn't help. It would just make things more awkward than it will already be."

He plopped down onto the couch, shoulders hunched in defeat. "What if Kate is at the coffee shop? She doesn't go with you but she gets there early just to make sure everything is really okay. She'll leave you alone unless you need her, for whatever reason."

"I can live with that, if she is willing."

* * *

Alexis didn't have any expectations going into the meeting. She already experienced the best father a daughter could ask for and the relationship with her mother prepared her for disappointment. She immediately knew it was him when they made eye contact. He looked older than she imagined, only having one old crinkly picture from 19 years of him with her mother. His hair black with wisps of grey, wrinkles framed his blue eyes; his black suit was a little worn. This was her father.

He stood up when she arrived at the table. "You must be Alexis, I'm Cameron."

"Hi, nice to meet you." She greeted as she sat down.

They made eye contact for a brief moment before looking away, the tension palpable. She looked around at everyone else; there was a couple clearly on a first date in the corner, a writer near them and Kate in the opposite corner reading a book. She was glad Kate was here, having someone familiar close by made it easier.

"So…you're my daughter." Alexis nodded, "and you're mother is Meredith."

"Yep."

"I haven't seen her forever."

"20 Years," Alexis supplied.

He pursed his lips, "Right. How is she?"

"She's good. Lives L.A. to pursue her acting career."

"Oh wow! What are you doing in New York? Do you go to school out here?"

"I'm studying at Columbia but I never went to L.A. with her. I grew up here in the city with my dad, Rick." His name felt weird on her tongue, she's never had to clarify before, she wasn't sure how she felt about having to do so. She wondered if he felt as terrified as she did, gripped by a knot in the stomach like her.

"What are you studying?"

"I'm not sure, trying to decide between medicine and law."

His eyebrows rose, "Wow, you're smart and ambitious. Definitely didn't get that from me."

"Mom's not particularly academic either," She murmured.

"Why are you interested in those fields?"

"Dad is a mystery writer so he was always researching for his books. Then about 5 years he started following around a homicide detective for his books. I learned a little bit about the law from that side then my senior of high school I interned for the M.E. and learned about the medical side."

"Sounds like you've had a very interesting life."

"It definitely hasn't been boring. What do you do?"

"I went to UPenn, got my degree in finance, moved out here right after college for a job at my dad's company."

"Why finance?"

He shrugged, "It's the family business."

They continued to talk; the remains of their coffees cooled as did the tension. A whole unfamiliar life opened up before her. She learned her grandparents came over from Ireland, he had 2 sisters each with kids of their own and a wife and a son. It was strange learning she came from a big family, well bigger than what she was used to. Meredith's parents died when she was baby and she didn't have any siblings; her dad just had grams until fairly recently when they met his father. She never experienced what it was like to have aunts, uncles and cousins around. But she never felt like her family was missing anything, and honestly she still didn't.

The conversation slowed, skirting around the big question, _what does this mean?_

"I never knew you existed."

"I know mom told me." She took a sip of the long forgotten coffee. "Can I ask you a question?"

He nodded.

"If you had known," the rest of the question unnecessary, they both knew what she was asking.

"I would've been involved from the very beginning. Would I have married Meredith? Probably not but I wouldn't let her keep me out of your life. That applies now, I know this is new territory and you already have a dad, but I'd like to get to know you better. If that's something you want."

"Yeah, let's keep in touch."

They stood up rigidly, said an awkward goodbye; he left while she strode over to Beckett and sat down.

"You okay?"

"Just a little tired. I never knew talking to someone could be so tiring."

"The doctor may have given you the all clear but that doesn't mean your back to 100% quite yet." Beckett laughed at the groan Alexis let out. "You'll get there soon enough. Don't worry."

_A/N: Sorry this is so short; I wanted to make it longer but I'm stuck for now so I figured I'd post this. I know where I want to go but it's going to take me a little bit to figure how exactly to get there. Thanks to everyone who's stuck with this story. _


	11. Chapter 11

Castle sprung off the couch when he heard the key turn in the door, fighting the urge to run to Alexis he slowed his steps. Realizing it was clear he was waiting for them he picked up the book on the table and rested against the arm, attempting to look calm and collected.

Beckett snorted and rolled her eyes when she noticed Castle's posture, "Research for the new book?"

"Oh this thing? I've always been interested in…" He quickly closed it, glancing at the cover, _Moving Still, _must one of his mother's. "…Dance movement."

"Oh right, how could I forget?"

Alexis took this moment to slip upstairs unnoticed. In search for a pain pill she took this time to process everything, knowing that either her dad would come searching for answers or she would have to tell him all about it as soon as she came down. She knew Beckett would placate her father until she was ready.

"How was it?"

"It seemed to go fine from my perspective. I kept my distance but didn't notice any red flags."

"He's a good guy? Trustworthy?"

"I can't speak about him as a person, I don't know him. With that said his record is clean, has a good stable job and a wife of his own."

His head dipped, "Good. That's good. She's been through so much lately and already has one flaky parent; she doesn't need another."

"I know this is hard for you but you raised a strong, smart, amazing young woman. If it helps I don't think she's looking for another parent, just wanted to see who he is."

"Do you think she'll want to have a relationship with him?"

"You have to talk to her about that. But when she's ready, do not go bombarding her with questions; let her come to you."

"I promise, I'll her come to me."

She rose off the couch, "Good, now how can I help with dinner?"

He raised an eyebrow, his look challenging her assumption.

Her hands rested on her hip, an eyebrow raised. "I know you Castle. When you feel the need to help someone but can't, you cook. So what comfort food did you decide to make?"

The smell of homemade macaroni and cheese lured Alexis from her room. Her dad was good, he knew she couldn't resist his mac and cheese and was that fried chicken? Oh he was good.

"Oh good you're here, I was just trying to convince him to let me fry the chicken so he wouldn't burn anything down but he refuses. Maybe you can talk some sense into him?"

"Dad, the last we need is a fire."

"I am offended you think I can't use a deep fryer."

"Remember the thanksgiving when I was 12."

"That wasn't-okay you know what that was just a small fire and it only happened once."

"Yeah and we've only used the fryer that one time. Hand it over."

Pouting, he moved aside allowing his partner to take over. He entertained them with his stories from the day, embellishing whenever possible. They laughed with him, letting him have his fun instead of ruining it but shared a secret look at every exaggeration. For the first time since this whole mess happened everything felt normal.

* * *

Alexis took a breath struggling to calm the anxiety racing through her. This is silly she told herself, you've always been able to talk to him about anything just say it. "Do you want to hear about him?" her voice timid and a bit shaky.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"I know this can't be easy for you and I don't want to make this anymore difficult."

"You can always talk to me. The only way we're going to get through this is together."

She told him about the coffee, the things they talked about, what she learned about him. She didn't delve into how she was feeling, mostly because she didn't know how she felt.

"He sounds like a nice a guy. Are you going to see him again?"

"We didn't make a plan but I think so." Alexis stood up, stretching her arms and back after sitting so long during their movie night. "I'm going to bed and you might want to Kate to bed." Her chin lifted towards the sleeping detective curled up in his side.

"Pumpkin?" He called out before she reached the stairs. "All I've ever wanted is for you to be happy. If having a relationship with him makes you happy than don't worry about anyone else. Just make sure you're doing this because you want to and not because you think you have to. I will support you either way."

She tucked a loose strand behind her ear, "Love you."

"Love you too."

Alexis tossed and turned for hours before giving up on sleep. Uncertainty plagued her mind, why was she getting to know Cameron? She already had a father she didn't need another one. Was she doing this because she wants to or did she feel like she had to? The answer wasn't straight forward, part of her felt like she had to, some people didn't have the opportunity to know their parents, had to grow up without them. Sure Meredith was mostly absent but she was still alive, they still talked on the phone and visited each other. Who was she to give up this opportunity to find out where she came from? On the other hand, people chose not to meet their biological parents all the time, Joss from her chemistry class was adopted and had no desire to meet her biological mom when she reached out.

Sighing she threw off her covers and headed downstairs for some hot chocolate. She saw Kate sitting on the piano bench, blanket draped over her shoulders staring out the window.

Kate turned when she heard footsteps too light to be her partner's. "Hey what are you doing up?"

Alexis shrugged, "Couldn't sleep, you?"

"Same here."

"Anything in particular keeping you up?"

"No, just hazard of the job. Want to talk about?"

"My whole life I've always done what I was supposed to do; go to school, do my homework, extracurriculars, say please and thank you, home by curfew. But when it comes to this there's no clear path. I don't know how to navigate this."

"I hate to tell you but there is no clear way to handle this. But you have a whole team of people behind you, your dad, Martha, your mom, me, even Ryan and Esposito."

"I don't know what to expect from Cameron, I know I'm not looking for another dad, but how do I tell him that? Where are the boundaries? Thanksgiving is coming up how does he fit into that? Christmas is right around the corner I guess that could be easier than thanksgiving since it's more than one day? But do I get him a gift? What would I even get him? I don't know him!"

"Alexis!" Beckett called out to stop her from spinning out even more. "Take a deep breath, hold it and relax."

Alexis's shoulder's rose and fell but her heart was still racing and mind still spinning.

"Good, in through your nose, hold it…now out through your mouth. Now keeping doing that a more few times."

Kate rubbed her circles on her back, feeling her heart slow as the built up anxiety began to fall away and her mind clearing up. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, I'm sorry I don't know where that came from."

"You don't ever,_ ever_ have to apologize to me for this."

She gave Beckett a small smile.

"Can I offer you some advice?"

"Yes, please."

"The most important thing in this situation is yourself. Go at your own pace and whatever you feel comfortable with. He doesn't have to be another father, you could think of him like an uncle or even just a friend. As for the Holidays you two will figure that out when time comes."

Alexis yawned, thanked Kate and for a second time that night headed bed. She never got her hot chocolate but found something better.


	12. Chapter 12

"Hey kiddo where are you off to?"

Alexis stopped at the bottom of the stairs to slip on her simple black heels. "Cameron bought tickets for the symphony and we're going to dinner beforehand."

"Wow that's snazzy."

"Yeah, turns out he played the clarinet in high school and since I played the violin…" She trailed off, not quite sure how to express how she felt. It wasn't that it was a bad thing; it felt good to have something in common, made the connection stronger but reminded her of the reality of the situation at the same time.

"It's good to have something in common, other than DNA of course."

Alexis laughed; her grandmother sure knew how to put it all out there.

"Do you have a second before you go?"

Alexis nodded, and sat next to her at the island, noting her grandmother's serious tone.

"I'm sorry I haven't been around a lot through all this," her hands waved around.

"It's okay, really. It's actually kind of nice having someone that isn't hovering. I know dad and Kate mean well but a person can only hear 'how are you doing?' so many times in a day before I want to scream."

Martha reached across the table, placed her hand over Alexis's, "As long as you promise to come to me if you need someone; I promise to not ask you how you are. Deal?"

Alexis tipped her head, "Deal. I have to go or I'm going to be late. I'm assuming you will be out when I get home?"

"I go wherever the night takes me."

"Goodbye! Don't get into too much trouble." She called out halfway out the door, laughing to herself.

"No promises!"

* * *

They walked in silence to the ice cream shop, already exhausted the post-symphony topics. He looked at her like she was crazy for suggesting to get ice cream in this weather but in the end she convinced him with the argument that it's the best time because your face is already numb you don't notice how cold the ice cream is and you don't have to eat it quickly because it won't melt. A little bell rang when… Cameron opened the door for her. She mentally kicked herself for stuttering over what to call him; so far she's stuck to his name but would he expect her to start calling him dad as they got to know each other? She wasn't sure she was comfortable with that.

Cameron brushed off the flecks snow that stuck to his shoulders, "I hate the snow."

"How do you live in New York and hate the snow?" The snow on Alexis had already melted. It was still a little too warm for it to stick to the ground, melting away instead.

He shrugged, "Born and raised here, can't imagine living anywhere else."

"I almost moved to California."

"To live with Meredith?"

"No, I applied to Stanford but didn't get it in."

"Let me get this straight, you were accepted into Columbia but not Stanford?"

"No it's not like that, I had enough credits to graduate a semester early and my boyfriend at the time was a year older and going to there so I thought I wanted to follow him." She took a bite of her ice cream, "It was for the best though, I used my free semester to intern at the ME office then reapplied and got in the second time. But ultimately I wanted to stay in the city so Columbia won."

"That sounds very…responsible. A lot of teenagers wouldn't have taken the step back like you did. They would've gone anyways and figured out as they went. I'm glad you have a good head on your shoulder."

Alexis smiled, amusement reflecting in her eyes.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh it's nothing." She wasn't sure how to talk about her dad around Cameron yet. They were still getting to know each other and didn't want to spend that time constantly talking about her dad; it felt like she was breaking an unspoken rule, don't talk about your dad while getting to know your biological one. She swore there was a flicker of disappoint in his eyes. "I was just thinking about how we joke around that I'm the responsible one."

He nodded, not quite sure how to respond to that.

"Never understood where I got it from…must have been from you." She realized a moment later.

Delight reflected back at her, the residual awkward tension from the situation dissolved. She hated to bring it back if she didn't she would loose her nerve.

Anxiety raced through her veins as she gathered the courage to speak, "Can we talk about something?"

"What is it?"

"We've been doing these meets up for a little while now and really starting to get to know each other. We haven't talked about where this is going or what are expectations are…" God, why did this sound like a relationship talk? "and that's okay I like the way things have been going but there is one thing plaguing my mind."

"Which is…?" He asked hesitantly.

"What do I call you?"

He sighed, that was all she wanted to talk about? He could handle this, "I think you should call me whatever you feel comfortable. I completely understand if you're not ready to call me dad or any related words. I'm not looking to replace Rick; I just want to be involved in your life."

"Thanks, I'll stick with Cameron for now."

* * *

Castle stared at the blank screen mocking him, cursed and slammed it shut.

"And you say dramatics don't run the family."

"Sorry, writer's block."

"I'm grabbing some dinner before my last class of the evening. Want to join?"

He shook his head and nodded to his computer. Martha huffed and sat down, she's seen her son in his writer block funk but this was different.

"Can I be frank with you?"

"Since when do you ask?"

Ignoring his comment she continued, "This changes things, there's no other way around that but that girl loves you and that will not change. Nothing else matters."

"I know it's not that. I don't blame her for wanting to get to know her-" He stuttered on what to call Cameron. "-him. I know what it's like to not know your father, to wonder who he is. I loved my childhood and I've come to terms with not knowing who he is because he could be anyone I wanted but I did not want that life for her. That's why whenever Meredith wanted her I let her, why I fought for custody, why I love my job. It let me provide her with not just the material things but also the time with her. I didn't have to spend my days in an office while a nanny raised her; I was able to raise her myself. All so she grew up knowing who her father was and to make up for Meredith being absent."

"And you've done a wonderful job raising her. So give yourself more credit than you do and stop pouting. I've watched you sit around here for two months but life is too short, it's time to seize the day and live life!" With that said she stood up and walked out the door.

He mulled over his mother's advice. She was right; while this did change things it wasn't the end of the world or their family. If they had any hope of getting back to normal they would just need to keep moving forward.


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: I had this chapter written about a week after my last update but my beta took the time in between to edit so not my fault for the long delay but it's extra-long so hopefully that helps. This is where this universe ends, but before it does I'd like to give a big thank you for everyone who's stuck with this and reviewed and to escap-reader.12 for all the help. _

"Did I ever tell you about the time I called 911 for help with math homework?"

She let out a laugh, "You what?"

"I was 6, it was one of those worksheets with a bunch or problems either addition or subtraction I can't remember. Anyways, mother always told me to call 911 if I needed help and I needed help…"

"What happened? Did they show up to the apartment?"

He shook his head; "I only talked to the operator for maybe two minutes before mom caught me. She talked to the operator and explained what happened and that was it."

"Did you get in trouble?"

"No, technically I didn't do anything wrong. I only did what she told me too."

Her fingers traced his arm resting across her stomach; he finally relaxed for the first time in months. She learned early on in their relationship his language of love was quality time, it didn't matter what they did he only needed to be with her. It took her awhile to get used to, requiring space in her previous relationships but now it felt weird to go more than a day without seeing him. And with the latest complication in his life, she made sure to be available whenever he needed.

Muffled voices on the other side of the door caught their attention.

"Is that? Did he?"

She sat up, "Castle don't." her glare fixing him in place.

"I'm not going to interrupt them, just want to sneak a peak." He tiptoed to the door, pressing his eye to the peephole.

"Thanks again for taking me. You really didn't have to." She stopped in front of the red door.

"Nonsense, you were doing me a favor. Lauren finds the symphony boring."

A light thump startled them; Alexis rolled her eyes when she realized it came from the loft. Sighing she opened the door to find Castle on the other side holding a pillow Beckett must have thrown at him.

"Were you spying on me?"

"N-no…what? Of course not!"

She crossed her arms and squinted her eyes, eerily reminding him of Kate.

"We were talking, heard voices so I thought it might be that annoying neighbor."

"Let's just pretend I believe you. Thanks again Cameron." She headed upstairs to put on something more comfortable leaving Cameron and Rick alone.

"I'm Cameron, although you already knew that."

Rick shook his hand, "Rick, but I'm sure you knew that."

"Sorry to intrude like this, it was late and I wanted to make sure she got home safe."

"Thanks."

"It's the least I can do. You're the one allowing her to get to know me."

"She's an adult, I can't really stop her."

"No, but I see the way she talks about you. You are her world and if you weren't okay with it we wouldn't –"

"It makes her happy," he said, cutting him off. "Just don't leave. She's been through enough, she doesn't need any more disappoint."

He nodded in understanding before walking away. "You raised a special girl," he said, stopping halfway down the hallway.

"Can't take much credit, She practically raised herself."

"You had a lot more to do with it than you think."

* * *

"Who's coming for Thanksgiving year?" Rick asked. Pulling out all the ingredients for their movie and dinner night, he dumped the vegetables in the sink and rinsing them before moving on.

"It'll be you, me, grams, Kate and Jim," Alexis answered as she started chopping the vegetables.

"My how our holiday's have grown," he observed, a smile flashing across his lips as he remembered something. "Remember that one thanksgiving when you were 8?"

"How could I forget? We had an 8 pound turkey for the two of us! We ate leftovers for the next two weeks."

"In my defense gram and Meredith were supposed to join us."

"How big of turkey did you get this year?" When he didn't answer she go into his line of sight and raised an eyebrow. "Dad…"

"16 pounds…" he said sheepishly, flashing her a big smile.

"Seriously? That's 4 pounds per person."

"Well I had an idea…"

"No! We are not going to try turducken again. It didn't work last time and it's not going to be different now."

"No, I dropped that idea," he said dismissively. "I was thinking we could invite someone else."

"Who?"

"Cameron? I know it's last minute and he probably already has plans. And only if you're comfortable with it."

He let her contemplate it in silence. He didn't want to push her since this is something she needed to decide on her own. He needed her to know he was okay with it.

"I'll think about it." She said after a few moments of silence.

Nodding his head, he made his way to the cupboards as he said, "I'll grab the plates and you put on the finishing touches."

They filled their plates and settled on the couch. "Is Kate coming over tonight?"

"Yes but probably not until later. They caught a case around lunch."

"You know I'm happy for you right?"

He nodded, "Thanks, that means a lot."

"I know I wasn't the most enthusiastic in the beginning of your relationship. I couldn't stand the idea of someone else hurting you, of her hurting you again. When you first met I knew she was different right away, wasn't like those bimbo's chasing after you; she was real. Even if you two never became an item she was still a good influence, grounded you and gave me my dad back full time. But then it seemed like every year she hurt you; I watched you fall apart and her come sweeping back into your life. You took her back without a second thought; I didn't understand how you trusted her time and time again."

"Pumpkin..." He was lost for words. He was aware Alexis wasn't Kate's biggest fan and that his relationships affected her but never saw how deep it went. "First off it wasn't all her, I did my share of hurting. Second of all, love is complicated and messy and when you love someone, I mean unconditionally love someone, forgiveness is easy."

"You really do love her don't you?"

"She's the love of my life."

"That's what I thought. That's why I have accepted her; also because I know she loves you too. She's proven that by being here for you and me during this. I just wanted you to know I am 100% on board with your relationship."

* * *

The loft was buzzing with activity.

Castle basting the turkey every 30 minutes like clockwork, Alexis putting one the finishing touches before putting them in the oven, Beckett in charge of the pies and Martha the drinks. Castle and Alexis did whatever they could to stay busy, Thanksgiving was stressful enough but this day will be different than the others. Not only is it their first dinner with Kate and Jim as part of their family but also Cameron and Lauren would be joining them. Overnight their family grew from three to seven.

Alexis's jumped when the doorbell rang. Kate placed her hand on the girl's shoulder, "Relax it's just my dad."

"Hey Jim, come on in." Rick led him to the living room.

"I know I'm early, I heard it was going to be quite the affair tonight so I figured I'd see how I can help."

"You can help by sitting down and enjoying this wonderful hors d'oeuvre, if I do say so myself," Rick said, offering him a plate

"Let me guess you made them."

"Of course he did dad, you think he would call them wonderful if he didn't?" Kate teased when she handed her dad sparkling cider. She kissed his cheek. "Happy Thanksgiving dad."

"Happy Thanksgiving Katie. Are you sure there's nothing I can do to help?"

"Don't worry everything is already taken care of." Just putting the finishing touches on a few things. In fact I'm kicking Castle out of the kitchen."

He stared at her, shock all over his face, "Your what?"

"You've been cooking since 6 this morning, sit down and relax for a bit before everyone else gets here. I can handle the rest."

"But mother-" he started to say.

"Can't touch anything in the kitchen I know. She's on drinks and setting the table and I will keep an eye on her." She squeezed his arm, her lips pressing against his temple. "You need to relax, Alexis is nervous enough for the both of you. It's going to be fine."

"How's business going? How was France?" Rick asked as he joined Jim.

"It's good, France was amazing. Didn't see much of it of course but the view from the car between the airport and hotel was good. How have things been around here?"

"Beckett told you."

"I plead the fifth," Jim said, looking away. Rick couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"Things have been getting better, slowly but definitive in that direction."

"That's completely understandable. I know you have whole support system around you but I'm throwing my name into the ring as well, father to father." He reached over and patted Rick's lap, earning a smiling in return.

"Like I said it's tough times. There are days when I don't even think about it, Alexis and I will be watching a movie or at dinner, or whatever, and it feels like it's old life like normal. Like everything that's happened, car accident included was, a different universe. But then there's other days when it comes crashing into me and I get so angry at Meredith all over again."

Jim nodded, "Can I ask a question?" Rick gave a curt nod to go on. "Have you met him?"

"Yes, a few weeks ago actually. He walked Alexis up to make sure she got home safe."

"Seems like a stand up guy."

"Yeah he does," Rick grumbled

"You don't seem to happy about that." Jim observed.

Rick sighed and smiled. "I am, it definitely makes this whole situation easier but it also makes it harder to be mad at him. Then I remember he's not at fault in any of this; he didn't know she existed. Now that he does, all he wants to do is to get to know her."

"And who could blame him, she's an incredible woman."

"Exactly. I can't fault him for that."

Cameron and Lauren arrived shortly after. Cameron looked around; everyone seemed to have a job leaving him and Lauren to sit with Castle making small talk. Alexis left to get more appetizers for them.

"Thanks again for having us." He's probably said that 50 times now but wasn't sure what else to say with Alexis gone.

"It's not problem at all. We're is glad you could make it, wasn't sure if you had plans."

"We were supposed to go to my parents but when she called we couldn't say no." Lauren said, shrugged her shoulders.

"Well thanks for changing your plans," Rick said, correcting himself.

"You're doing me the favor really," he mumbled, wincing when Lauren's elbow dug into his side and making Rick chuckle.

"My family can be a bit much on the holidays. My mother likes her wine, if you know what I mean." Lauren explained.

"Oh don't worry you are in good company." He pointed over his shoulder at Martha who was currently in a conversation with Jim. "I have to hide the good stuff when I go away."

"Where's your bathroom?" Cameron asked.

"Upstairs, the first door on your right." Cameron nodded his head and excused himself before making his way up.

"So Lauren, Alexis tells me you like to read. Any chance you like the mysteries?"

Cameron made his way upstairs, easily finding the bathroom. He paused at the top of the stairs before going back down, a bedroom splashed with purple and green caught his eye. It must be Alexis's room. Curiosity getting the best of him, he peeked his head in, feet moving past the doorway without his permission. He noticed her bed neatly made and a wall-to-wall bookshelf that was filled, expecting nothing less.

Alexis watched him from the doorway, "I was about 3 in that picture."

He quickly dropped the picture frame, spun around a guilty smile on his face. "Sorry didn't mean to snoop."

"It's okay I don't have anything to hide here." She winked and walked in. "The drugs and fake ID are in my dorm."

"Not funny."

"A little funny."

"Do you mind telling me about this day?" He pointed to the picture of Alexis and Rick on a sled at the top of a hill sunrise in the background.

"It was the first snow fall of the year, I was probably around 8 years old. He woke me up before sunrise, declaring that it was sledding time. We drove out of the city and stopped at the biggest hill we could find. He took that picture at the top right before we went down."

Alexis frowned at the sadness mirrored back at her. She never realized how much it must hurt Cameron to not have been apart of her life all this time. He wasn't there to see her take her first steps, hear her first word, take her to her first day of school, or see her graduate high school.

"Hey, I have a bunch more pictures downstairs. Maybe you'd like to see them?"

He instantly brightened up at the suggest, "I'd love that."

She stopped in the kitchen before grabbing the photo albums from the bookshelves. "Hey Kate, do you mind keeping an eye on the dinner? I'm going to show Cameron some baby pictures."

"Of course."

They sat around the coffee table surrounded by albums organized chronologically. He looked at them at his leisure, occasionally asking Alexis to tell him the story behind it; even Martha and Rick joined in with stories about the pictures she was too young to remember.

"I hate to interrupt but dinner is served."

Everyone took their seats and covered their plates with food. Rick stood up, getting everyone's attention.

"I'd like to make a toast. Thanksgiving doesn't have the happy history we like to believe and it isn't about eating yourself into a coma, although that part is pretty good. It's about togetherness and taking a moment to recognize everything we have to be thankful for. I am thankful for everyone here today. Mother, for always encouraging to pursue my dreams and teaching me to never give up; Alexis, I'm so proud of the woman you have become. Kate, where do I begin? Our story is one of highs and lows but I wouldn't rewrite a single day; Jim, thank you for raising an extraordinary daughter and accepting my family into yours. Lastly, I would like to welcome two more people into this nontraditional family. Cameron and Lauren we met under…complicated circumstances but your part of Alexis's family now and that means your part of mine." He raised his glass and everyone followed suit, "to family."

"To family."


End file.
